Neighbors remember heroism of Clay resident who died in construction accident

Lateef Haskins, of 38 Bayberry Circle, is shown in a photo from June 19, 2010. He helped Onondaga County sheriff's deputies save a family of four from their burning home. He died Friday in a construction accident.Charley Hannagan / The Post-Standard, 2010

Lateef Haskins, 37, of Bayberry Circle, Clay, died after he fell three stories while installing metal decking on a renovation project at the State University College at Oswego, a school official said.

Haskins was working for Solvay Iron Works, a subcontractor on the project, when he fell, said Julie Harrison Blissert, speaking for Oswego State.

The accident occurred at about 8:25 a.m. as he was installing metal decking on a new connector area between Park and Wilber halls, Blissert said.

The Oswego City Fire Department ambulance took Haskins to Oswego Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, Blissert said.

On June 18, 2010, Haskins helped Onondaga County sheriff’s deputies save four of his neighbors on Bayberry Circle from a burning home. The Moyers Corner Fire Department later recognized Haskins “for his courageous and selfless actions,” Battalion 1 Fire Chief Steve Zaferakis said at the volunteer fire department’s monthly meeting in August 2010.

Suzanne Conley, who lives next to Haskins and his family, remembers that she was home that night when she heard somebody pounding on her door. It was after dark, and she normally wouldn’t answer the door. Instead, she went upstairs and looked out across the street and saw their neighbor’s house on fire.

“We went out and got my ladder out of my garage, and then he helped people get out of the top floor,” Conley said.

Conley said she didn’t socialize with Haskins and his family, but that he “was just a good neighbor. . . . He always said, ‘let me help you.’¤”

Catherine Poon will always be grateful to Haskins, because he helped save her life, along with her son, 16, daughter, 21, and niece, 20. “I heard this news (of Haskins’ death) and I am very sad,” Poon said. “He was a very good guy.”

In an interview with The Post-Standard the day after the fire, Haskins described how he had just come home from a late softball game. He was thinking about taking a shower, but settled in to watch a little ESPN first.

“I would want somebody to do the same if my family was in that situation,” Haskins said.

In the two years since his heroic act, Poon and Conley said they saw him around the neighborhood, and he would frequently offer to help with chores. Poon’s husband died in 2008, and she appreciated it when Haskins helped carry a large TV into her house, fixed a lock on her door and — most importantly — finished work on her deck and patio when the original worker she hired stopped showing up.

“I asked him to give me a bill so I could pay him for the work, and he wouldn’t take any money,” Poon said.

University Police are investigating Haskins’ death, and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified, said Blissert of Oswego State.

The university Friday suspended construction on the project pending a safety review, Blissert said.

“Given the seriousness of this accident, we feel it is worth taking a timeout to review, not only this incident and project, but all the construction work going on at our college,” Deborah F. Stanley, Oswego State president, said in a prepared statement.

“We extend our deep condolences to his family and his co-workers,” Stanley said.

Solvay Iron Works President Kelly Ormsby said he couldn’t speak about the accident.

OSHA and law enforcement are investigating the accident, even as the company does its own investigation, he said.

“It’s still being investigated and I can’t talk about it,” Ormsby said.

Ormsby offered his condolences to the family.

“We’re praying for them,” he said.

“It’s a terrible tragedy. It’s an absolute tragedy. He was a very good guy,” Ormsby said.

Major projects under way on the Oswego campus include construction of a new science complex and renovation of Park, Wilber and Sheldon halls, according to the college.

Haskins is survived by his wife, Jessica, and three children at home.

“I would see him after work always playing with his kids in the front yard,” Poon said.